Tim Brewster: 'I Am Absolutely Jacked' to Coach Gators TE Kyle Pitts
Dan Mullen lured North Carolina tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator Tim Brewster away from Mack Brown less than one month ago. However, Brewster has been working non-stop since he took the job, recruiting prospects across the country while also familiarizing himself with the roster at hand.
In the short time span, Brewster has gotten himself familiar with, perhaps, one of the biggest reasons why Mullen was able to steal him away from the Tar Heels: First Team All-SEC tight end Kyle Pitts.
Brewster recently joined the Stadium and Gale Podcast in order to introduce himself to Gators fans properly. His first order of business was to discuss what he thought of Pitts and how he wanted to continue developing the rising junior's talents.
You could hear the excitement in his voice.
"You know what guys, I am absolutely jacked to coach Kyle," Brewster told Stadium and Gale. "He's an outstanding young man, obviously he's an amazingly gifted, talented guy."
Pitts is fresh off of a dynamic breakout season as a sophomore at Florida, where he hauled in 54 receptions for 649 yards and five touchdowns, ranking third, seventh, and tied for fifth nationally among tight ends in those categories, respectively.
Brewster is ecstatic to get his hands on that type of receiving talent, and he's developed players of Pitts' nature previously toward plenty of success.
Take recently-retired Los Angeles Chargers tight end Antonio Gates, a future first-ballot Hall of Famer, for example. Brewster was the first coach to get his hands on him as an undrafted free agent and former college basketball player in 2003 - one year later, Gates earned First-Team All-Pro honors.
At Florida State, Brewster is also credited with the development of Nick O'Leary, who won the John Mackey Award and was named a Consensus All-American in 2014, a year after Brewster was added to the staff. O'Leary went on to be selected in the sixth round of the 2015 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills.
Brewster went on to praise Pitts' length, standing at 6-6, and is excited that he's been in the weight room with strength and conditioning coach Nick Savage this offseason. Getting Pitts even bigger, and stronger, is all a part of Brewster's plan to turn Pitts into a dynamic, three-down tight end.
"Savage is a complete beast, he's taken this guy to another level from a strength standpoint," Brewster said. "Which I think will really help him because, what I'm trying to do with Kyle Pitts is, I don't want him to be a situational, pass-catching tight end. I want him to be a true, three-down tight end. A guy that competes in the run game and can handle himself in the run game, and really prepare him for the next step."
That's probably the right approach. Pitts' size and speed combination is rare to find these days, especially when that specimen is a polished receiver. Brewster wants to make Pitts even more unique, and if he can pull that off, Pitts could very well be a first-round pick in 2021.
Brewster stated that he's looked at complete tight ends in the NFL with Pitts in order to continue developing his game.
"You look at George Kittle," Brewster continued. "George Kittle can get vertical down the field, can make great, explosive plays in the passing game, and he can set the edge of the front. I mean, he does a great job in the run game, competing, and that's what I want to do with Kyle. I want to help him, I want to take him to that place where he's got the same amount of confidence in the run game as he does in the passing game."
Brewster mentioned throughout the interview that, while he was happy with his job at UNC, Florida just felt like the right opportunity for him. Joining a coaching staff with a talent like Pitts at your disposal is certainly appealing, and you can tell that Brewster is chomping at the bit to put Pitts' development on his résumé.
"We'll get that done," Brewster said of his plan with Pitts. "We're just beginning our journey together, man, it's going to be a hell of a ride."
